A PARTY pub in a quiet residential street acted as a magnet for urinating yobs, anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking, neighbours told a licensing hearing.

Milner's pub, in Heswall, was yesterday at the centre of a legal battle as incensed residents petitioned councillors to close it down.

Sergeant Graham Parker, of Heswall neighbourhood police team, said the Milner's Road pub, run by 24-year-old landlord David Earnshaw, had become the number one policing priority in the town.

"Generally this area is causing me a problem; we can't police Heswall because we have to police the area surrounding the premises," he told Wirral council's sub-licensing committee.

On one occasion, the small neighbourhood police team were so outnumbered by boozy and threatening drinkers from the pub they feared a riot. Licensing sergeant Peter Jenkins said: "On June 5, all the staff of Heswall police station were needed to answer reports of between 80 and 100 youths outside. Bottles were strewn around the area and the crowd was belligerent.

"The gravity of this situation should not be under-estimated, and the only reason that arrests were not made was that dispersal of the crowd was identified as the priority and arrests could have been the catalyst for a serious and dangerous situation."

Smartly dressed in a suit and tie and accompanied by his mother, Mr Earnshaw remained silent throughout the hearing, with barrister David Dadds speaking on his behalf.